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This weekend the clocks will change to Daylight Savings Time and we’ll lose an hour of sleep. And the importance of quality sleep cannot be overstated as part of the alkaline lifestyle.
Sleep is when your body fights acid most efficiently. Your liver and kidneys are filtering out acids and toxins, your cells are hard at work repairing any damage to muscles, joints, and bones, and your mind is sorting through your day, which curbs stress.
On the other hand, if your body is acidic, you simply aren’t going to get quality rest. Ever wake up in the morning after about 8 hours of sleep and still feel exhausted? Acid is the reason why.
So right now is a great time to check in on how your sleep is affected by your lifestyle in order to make both more alkaline!
Tell me about your sleep and I can tell you about your acid levels.
Your body is most hard at work FIGHTING ACID in the middle of the night.
So, if you’re one of those people who wake up at 2:00 in the morning, otherwise known as “liver time,” and can’t get back to sleep, your liver and kidneys are crying out for help.
Every acid and toxin you ingest must be filtered through your liver, and waking up around this time to urinate is often caused by the liver, kidneys, and the rest of your buffering system working at full capacity to neutralize the acid.
Urination is one way of keeping pH balanced. Or as I say, “pee your way to better health”.
If you are not getting enough minerals during the period when your body needs them most (evening and middle of the night), then the body will find another way to get them.
It will, in essence, “rob Peter to pay Paul.”
In other words, it will rob calcium from your bones and magnesium from your muscles all in an effort to keep your blood pH tightly regulated and stable at 7.4 (that is what ‘buffer’ means).
Toxins drive the pH of the blood down, and if that numbers deviates by more than 1 point, you will die. So, your body would rather sacrifice its bones and muscles than allow your blood pH to veer too far off course.
Maybe you sleep soundly once you fall asleep, but doing so can take hours. Often, this stems from a Catch-22, where you double or triple your caffeine intake during the day because you’re so tired, and what does that lead to? Inability to fall asleep easily.
Did you know that drinking caffeine even first thing in the morning can mess with your adrenals all day and night? Despite what you may read about it, caffeine going in through your mouth is an adrenal and liver SUPPRESSOR!
That’s right. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, think back to that coffee you had 12 to 18 hours earlier as the culprit. Coffee and ALL caffeine products are acid-forming and sleep-robbing.
The Real Cause of Your Sleep Issues
Whether it was your acidic dinner (or dessert – sugar is a top sleep offender), your stress level, or even just a gradual buildup of acid throughout the day, the root cause of insomnia is ACID.
You would be surprised how much your diet contributes to your sleep issues.
I see this over and over in my clinic. A patient comes in exhausted, and once we change the way he or she is eating, rest comes naturally and abundant energy follows.
These are the biggest food offenders (notice they are all acidic!):
- Sugar
- Meat
- Dairy
- Caffeine
- Carbonated beverages
- Yeast
- Alcohol
- Grains and processed foods (especially white bread and pasta)
Your lifestyle also contributes to your ability to get a good night’s sleep.
Remember, stress is the #1 cause of acid in the body.
So the effects of stress on your sleep are two-fold. First, it’s harder to sleep if you have a lot on your mind. Then to make matters worse, your body is busier fighting acid as you try to sleep.
Are you watching TV as you fall asleep or using your phone right before bedtime?
EMF radiation is another form of toxin to the body, which we call Environmental. In my new book and Amazon Best Seller GET OFF YOUR ACID, I dive into the 5 sources of acid – Dietary, Metabolic, Chemical, Environmental, and Stress.
In fact, there is a quiz in the book that you can take to determine what your PRIMARY source of acid is – and once you know, you can take the necessary steps to reduce and eliminate.
You can also TAKE THE QUIZ ONLINE, it takes less than 2 minutes, and I would love to hear where YOUR main source of acid is coming from!
SO back to EMF – I suggest you shut off the wifi on your phone before you go to sleep, and try to keep your phone and any electronic device for that matter at least 4 feet away from you when sleeping.
Research indicates that screens contribute to poorer quality rest and feeling sleepier the next day.
Finally, lack of movement can contribute to trouble sleeping. A plethora of studies have concluded that regular exercise leads to better sleep quality and the opposite appears to be true as well.
5 Easy Ways to a Better Night’s Rest
- Ultimately, the more alkaline you eat, the better you’ll sleep.
In addition to cutting the acidic foods I already listed, add in a healthy serving of dark, leafy greens like spinach, kale, watercress, or chard to help keep your colon clean.
Greens are rich in magnesium, the key mineral for better quality sleep.
It can also help to keep dinner as a lighter, earlier meal (eat at least 3 hours before bedtime).
Remember the expression, “breakfast like a queen, lunch like a king, and dinner like a peasant.”
- Exercise at least a little every day.
Ideally for sleep, we would each exercise at least 150 minutes a week, or 22 minutes a day. Moderate to vigorous forms of exercise are best for sleep, so while yoga and tai chi have their place for aiding sleep as well and are both powerful ways to alkalize the body, aim for 20-25 minutes of walking, jogging, or rebounding every day.
P.S. Be sure to have your Alkamind Daily Minerals after EVERY workout, and try to get them into your body within the ideal 10-15 minute window immediately following the workout.
- Drink lots of pure alkaline water.
Dehydration slows down the detoxification process that’s constantly taking place in the liver and digestive system. So it’s important you stay hydrated throughout your day in order to sleep well at night. Drink 3 to 4 liters (100 to 140 ounces) of alkaline water every day to stay hydrated.
- Relax and unwind at bedtime.
In order to combat stress’ effect on sleep, practice meditation, yoga, massage, keep a gratitude journal, or anything else that helps you fight stress throughout your day. Before bed, try dry skin brushing followed by a hot detox bath.
After slipping into your pajamas, do some deep breathing. Not only is a clear mind conducive to a good night’s sleep, but taking a few minutes to breathe deeply can change your pH within 1 to 3 minutes!
- Use my secret weapon for a good night’s sleep.
Finally, give your body a dose of alkaline minerals 30 minutes before you go to sleep. Taking minerals such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium bi- carbonate is a fast way to neutralize acid so that your body doesn’t need to do it all on its own.
Alkaline minerals are also very calming to the nervous system and will put your body into a deeper REM sleep when it needs it most. You’ll find that when you go to sleep with Alkamind Daily Minerals, you’ll wake up full of energy and ready to take on the day.
